What Do You Think of President Trump’s Use of Twitter?

Please note: Student Opinion is a forum for teenagers. Please refrain from commenting if you are an adult.

In an April 28, 2017, article, The New York Times cataloged every tweet by President Trump in his first 100 days in office. Look at the 10 themes Times reporters used to categorize the tweets and read some of the tweets in each category. What do you notice about the way Mr. Trump has used Twitter as president? What is your reaction to his use of this social media platform?

President Trump touched off another racially charged furor on Wednesday by sharing videos from a fringe British ultranationalist party purportedly showing Muslims committing acts of violence, a move that was swiftly condemned by Britain’s prime minister as well as politicians across the spectrum.

At least one of the videos, however, did not show a “Muslim migrant,” as it claimed, but a teenage boy who was born in the Netherlands, according to Dutch authorities. The other two showed incidents in Syria and Egypt in 2013 without any explanation of the context of the political unrest then taking place in those countries.

No modern American president has promoted inflammatory content of this sort from an extremist organization. Mr. Trump’s two most recent predecessors, George W. Bush and Barack Obama, both made a point of avoiding public messages that were likely to be seen as anti-Muslim and could exacerbate racial and religious animosities, arguing that the war against terrorism was not a war against Islam.

But Mr. Trump has shown little such restraint, targeting Muslims with a broad brush, such as when he claimed on the campaign trail last year that “Islam hates us” and when he called for a “total and complete shutdown” of Muslims coming to the United States. Since taking office, he has sought to block visitors from select Muslim-majority nations and engaged in a long-distance feud with the Muslim mayor of London, whom he accused of being weak on terrorism.

Students: Read the entire article, then tell us:

— What is your reaction to Mr. Trump’s sharing these videos on Twitter? Do you think he is trying to draw attention to the need for national security, as the White House spokeswoman, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, claims? Or, like the British politicians who condemned his actions, do you think he is perpetuating racist narratives, inciting fear and normalizing hatred?

— One paragraph in this piece reads, “Such unbridled talk has thrilled some of his supporters who see him as a truthteller breaking out of the shackles of political correctness, but it has alarmed mainstream political leaders both in the United States and Britain, who see it as reckless and counterproductive.” With which side do you feel most aligned? Why? Do you know people who feel the opposite way? What arguments do they make?

Since the 2016 presidential campaign, Mr. Trump’s use of Twitter has been the subject of political analysis and provoked debates about its legal, ethical and political implications:

— In general, what do you think of Mr. Trump’s use of Twitter? Do you find it informative? Entertaining? Inflammatory? Reckless? How do you think a president should use social media? What effects do you think Mr. Trump’s tweets have? Why?

“When you attack a man for living an ordinary life in an ordinary job, it is bullying,” said Nicolle Wallace, who was communications director for President George W. Bush and a top strategist to other Republicans. “It is cyberbullying. This is a strategy to bully somebody who dissents. That’s what is dark and disturbing.”

Robert Dallek, a presidential historian, called the verbal attack unprecedented and added: “It’s beneath the dignity of the office. He doesn’t seem to understand that.”

Frank Sesno, a former CNN Washington bureau chief and now the director of the School of Media and Public Affairs at George Washington University, said Mr. Trump’s willingness to weaponize his Twitter feed, especially against people who are not political rivals, could produce a chilling effect on people willing to publicly criticize the president.

“Anybody who goes on air or goes public and calls out the president has to then live in fear that he is going to seek retribution in the public sphere,” Mr. Sesno said. “That could discourage people from speaking out.”

— The president’s use of Twitter also brings up questions about traditional democratic norms like accountability, transparency and public participation. In “Trump, Twitter and the Art of His Deal,” Amanda Hess writes:

Twitter provides the veneer of populist connection without the hassle of accountability. Sean Spicer, Mr. Trump’s incoming press secretary, has suggested that Twitter town halls and Reddit forums may replace some typical presidential press interactions, where he can easily make himself available to anonymous fans instead of the scrutiny of the press. The social media platforms that were once heralded as democratic tools could also be used to undermine democratic norms.

— Do you think the president should be able to block people on Twitter? Is it a form of government censorship or should he be free to choose with whom he communicates? Why do you think so?

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